Linger
by Forgotten Sacrifice
Summary: [Sam's POV] 'To many memories,' I muttered. My throat was soar, hoarse. It took me a few moments to comprehend that I hadn’t used it since...I shook my head, mentally forcing myself to push out the scenes that were flashing through my mind. 'Don’t think,'


**((AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay...Butch Hartman owns Danny Phantom (2004-2006). I am a fan. The plot is mine and ONLY mine. That's all I own. That's all I ever WILL own...sadly. PLEASEE no flames...okay actually you can flame because I honestly hate this...> ...so yeah. I would probably agree with you if you say: "THIS IS A PIECE OF CRAP!" ---but please be more original if you're going to flame. - Okay...LINGER!  
OHMYGOSH! ONE MORE THING! If you want a great DP Fanfiction site, PLEASE visit my profile! Honestly! I would LOOVEE if you did so...to read or post them it doesn't matter. NOW for Linger! ))**

My eyes swam with tears as I rested my head against the window. The only sound that I could comprehend was the brewing storm outside, and I tried to tune that out as much as I could. I slowly lifted my head off of my arm and stared into the window. I was shocked to find a tear stained face staring back at me. It was a girl, whose large violet eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn't slept in days. Her face seemed to be swallowed by her eyes, her cheekbones poking out. The girl's midnight black hair was plastered to her neck and shoulders. I suddenly felt a wave of pity for the girl.

I lifted my hand to reach out to the girl from the other side of the window, and she mirrored my exact movement. I gave her a sympathetic smile. She tried to give me one in return, but it was so full of sorrow and bitterness that it resembled a grim smirk.

It wasn't until I looked at the bigger picture did I realize that the girl was me. I was staring at my own faint reflection.

But this wasn't the girl that I was used to seeing each morning in the mirror as I got ready for school. This girl had sorrow imprinted in her eyes, the paleness of her face made it seem as if she were just a lingering spirit. I narrowed my eyes at my reflection. The girl behind the window did the same before she disappeared when heavy raindrops hit against the glass.

The wind whistled amongst the trees, making the storm that was now here stronger. I buckled my hands together around my knees as I huddled into a ball on my window seat. I clenched my eyes shut, trying to drown out the wind.

_He didn't seem to care. His crystal blue eyes were stone cold with seriousness as he rested his hand on my shoulder. I pursed my lips together, anxiously awaiting what I would say. _

"_Danny...please. Don't go." My voice was quiet as it rustled in the wind. _

"_NO!" He bellowed angrily, now glaring at me. "I'm not going to let this happen! No matter what you say, I'm not gonna change my mind!" His lower lip trembled as he rubbed his left eye fiercely. _

_I stifled the urge to embrace him as he turned his back on me, on the world. I was unaware that this would be the last time I would ever see his glorious face again. _

"_I'll come back," He promised me. "No matter what happens, I'll come back." I gaped at the back of his head, embraced by his raven black hair. I clutched the hem of my black skirt, preventing it from blowing up with the wind. Danny turned around, his crystal eyes seemed florescent with the distant sunlight. He brushed a strand of hair out of my face, tucked it behind my ear and rested his forehead upon mine. _

"_I'll come back," He vowed._

I gasped at the sudden memory that flooded my mind. My eyes flashed open, and I was suddenly in my room, out of the memory that I had tried to suppress for so long...

I held my head with my head as I rested my elbow on the windowsill. It was raining heavier now; all I could see was white as I gazed out my window.

Voices filtered through my room from the den above me, yet they were so quiet I had to strain my ears to hear.

"I don't know, Jeremy," I could hear my mother muse worriedly. "She may not take this very well..."

My father scoffed.

"What choice have we got, Pam?" He bellowed, his voice, usually never that much stronger than my mother's, made me cringe from the volume. "She doesn't eat, she can't sleep! And when she does she wakes up every two hours screaming bloody murder!"

"Please!" My mother's voice seemed beggish. "Calm down. She'll get over it. I know she will."

There was a moment of silence.

"No, she won't. It's been two months now. Samantha needs help, Pam, and whether we have to send her to Silent Gardens, then so be it."

I furrowed my brow. Silent Gardens was where the drug addicts and other teenagers in desperate need of help had to go to when there was no other option. Did my father mean I had to go there? I pursed my lips together, forming a hard, thin line, and listened.

"–and don't even try to get me to change my mind! You and I both know what Samantha needs...and she needs help."

The argument continued, but I rolled my eyes at my father's futile attempt and tuned out the conversation.

I closed my eyes once more, trying to push the shock of the sudden memory out of my mind. My hands, now shaky from realization of it, pushed a stray hair out of my face. I inhaled deeply and rested my head on my arm, listening to the soft pitter-patter of the rain outside.

"_Sam..." My mother's voice was grave as she tapped my on my shoulder. I winced at the sudden touch, but turned around from my computer to look into her pale blue eyes. _

"_Hmm?" I asked, tapping my fingers impatiently on the desk._

_My mother bit her lip, and I was now anxious to hear what was troubling her. She put her hand on my shoulder (I cringed) and sighed. _

"_It's...it's about Danny..." _

_I furrowed my brow in confusion. _

"_Danny?" I repeated. _

_She nodded and took a seat on my bed. I crossed my legs in the chair. _

"_He..." She adverted her eyes to the red carpet below us. I gulped, hoping that my assumption was incorrect. "He's gone." _

_I did not let anything slip my lips for a long time. _

"_What do you mean...gone?" My voice sounded so small, weak, helpless... _

_My mother sighed again. _

"_After he left, honey...they found him." _

_I felt my stomach jolt with anxiety. _

"_And?" I insisted. My mother's face remained solemn. _

"_There'll be services on Sunday." And with those last words, she left me beside my computer, accumulating the pieces of what she had just said._

I lightly drew my head off of my arm and sighed as my parents continued their argument. It seemed as if this had been a daily routine for them for the past few weeks.

"SHUT UP!" My father roared. My stomach cringed. He only yelled at my mother like that when he got angry that she wouldn't accept that things were going to be his way. I could hear the door slamming, my mother's footsteps scuffling along the carpeted hallway. I stared at my door with large, blank eyes as I awaited for her to enter as she always did and inform me that we would be ordering pizza tonight. But no soft tap on my door came. No sound came close to my room but the soft hum of my mother's red Volvo pulling out of the long, narrow driveway.

I sighed and stood up. My legs were shaky, weak; it felt as if I had not walked upon them in weeks. Months, perhaps. I brushed a strand of hair out of my face and pushed it behind my ear, sighing lightly as I let my body drop onto my unmade bed.

"To many memories," I muttered. My throat was soar, hoarse. It took me a few moments to comprehend that I hadn't used it since–I shook my head, mentally forcing myself to push out the scenes that were flashing through my mind. "Don't think," I ordered myself, my attempt turning out to become futile.

_I watched as the casket was lowered into the deep hole. My throat suddenly had a lump, the tears that I had been suppressing were now begging to crawl out and splatter the envelope that I was clutching with my sobs. I took a deep breath and bit the inside of my cheek so fiercely I could taste blood slightly oozing into my mouth. _

_I barely heard what the preacher's words were as he spoke them, trying to focus my thoughts upon different matters: whether I should open up the envelope that Maddie had given to me or not. I glanced down at it, its middle was now severely crumpled due to my intense grasp. I closed my eyes for a brief moment as I inclined my head up toward the preacher, now muting his words entirely._

_The ceremony must have ended, for people were now standing up from their metal chairs and comforting a rather large, bulky man and a slender woman. I leaned back against the cool back of the chair and inhaled deeply. The soft murmurs of the attendants of the funeral were rummaging around._

"_...so sad..."_

"_...young, too. Not even fifteen yet!"_

"_...such good friends. Wonder how it'll affect her."_

_I sat up straight, feeling eyes resting upon me. Maddie Fenton was sitting in the seat beside me, burying her face in her hands. I pocketed the envelope in the side pocket of my once-worn dress and stood up._

"_Mrs. Fenton?" I asked hoarsely. She dropped her hands to her lap and gave me a half-hearted smile. "Are you alright?" I mentally kicked myself at the idiotic question._

"_I'm..." She paused for a moment. "I'll be fine, eventually." I vaguely noticed a tear drape out from the corner of her eye. I furrowed my brow and sighed. _

_A pair of hands seized my shoulders and squeezed them gently. I turned my head slightly to find Vlad Masters giving me a sympathetic smile._

"_So sad about what happened," He muttered, his smile now dissolving into a frown. "Poor Daniel..." Maddie allowed a sob escape from her restraints. Vlad sighed and continued. "Tragedy, I must say. How did it happen again, Samantha?"_

_I narrowed my eyes at Vlad, the memory creeping up on me once more. I stood up from my chair and crossed my arms, showing my back to Maddie and Vlad_

"_You should know," I snapped before hastily walking away, leaving a bewildered Maddie and a shocked Vlad behind. _

"Stop it!" I ordered, grasping my purple comforter for support. "Please!"

The wind howled against my window, penetrating the silence in my room. An eerie chill ran up my spine as I pulled the comforter closer to my body until it reached my chin.

"Please," I repeated. "I want to forget."

But the sudden flow of memories would not leave me. They would not be deleted in the recycle bin that I had kept in my mind. I groaned in the pain of both having to watch as these diary entries of my mind were being re-read, and the frustration of my cries being ignored.

'_Dear Sam,' The letter read. I could barely make out his messy scrawl of handwriting. I squinted my eyes as I continued reading._

'_If I don't make it, I've put this in a place for Mom to find it and give it to you. There are a few things that I wanted to clear up before the memories of me were burned away._

_First, know that I didn't want any of this to happen. All I wanted was for you and Tucker and everyone to be safe. I hope that, when the results come, and you still read this, I, and the other ghosts as well, came down as winners._

_Secondly (and selfishly), I want you to know that I love you. I always have, Sam, and I always will. But I want you to move on. The instant you're finished reading this letter, throw it away and forget about me. _

_Lastly, I haven't broken my promise...and I don't intend on doing so._

_Yours truly,_

_Danny'_

_I re-read the letter what seemed like thousands of times before I folded it up into a small square and pocketed it. Despair overwhelmed me as I rested my head against the alley wall. I felt warm tears overflow on my face, soft sobs echoing throughout the cold, dead night._

"NO!" I shouted, yanking my eyes open. My room was now enveloped in darkness from outside, which was now a steaming pitch black, yet the rain still continued.

I closed my eyes, wishing for dreamless sleep to come and seize me away, but I had no such luck. I sighed and threw the heavy blanket off of me and stood up on my carpet. My balance was lost for a moment, and I swayed recklessly until I caught my bedpost. Still lightheaded, I let go of the post and began to walk toward my bedroom door, out into the hallway.

My bare feet led me to the downstairs kitchen, where my father sat, idly twirling his coffee mug around on the table. He looked up, and my gaze met his. His jaw dropped slightly at my appearance, his brow furrowed in confusion. I blinked twice before I walked past him and into the living room, the door to the outside just feet away.

The couch had been moved to the far corner; the television set now sat in the center of the room, making the living room look much more larger. I bit my lip and tentatively crossed the room to the back door. I could feel my father's stare etching a hole in my back as I flung open the door and entered the rain-devoured world that I had been avoiding for so long.

Rain pelted against my forehead, my face, as I stepped off of the back porch. I could feel the moisture in the air embrace me. Rainwater dripped from my slightly open lips, my eyelids, as I threw my head back against the rain.

A soft figure was slightly illuminated in the desolate clouds above me. My eyes widened at the familiar shadow, my heart giving a sudden throb. I could feel my stomach tighten up into a massive knot. The figure disappeared as soon as I could absorb what was going through my mind. I bit my lip and suppressed the tears that would soon flow over my cheeks.

"You lied," I muttered softly, the wind drowning out my words. My head was now bent toward the ground, my eyes narrowed into slits as the drenched grass beneath my feet flowed with the wind. I felt a surge of self-pity overwhelm me, for I was unable to be like the grass. I couldn't face what happened and move on...it was as if I were stuck to these certain memories...and they would never fade. "You never came back. You never will."

With no knowledge of how I got there, I was suddenly on the ground, my hands now held clumps of dirt in them. I was heavily panting. Hot tears streamed down my face.

"Why?" I whispered.

**((AUTHOR'S NOTE: Erm...TADA! Okay...No ta-da. More like I've been working on this for a month (about two sentances a week...heh...well, 'till last night) and it was originally MUCH longer...but MUCH cornier. TEH EEEND...**

**Forgotten Sacrifice)) **


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